Tag Archives: romance

[REVIEW] CITY HUNTER

I had been waiting  for what seems like forever for the release of a new series starring Lee Minho. Finally about 3 months ago  hear about City Hunter. Of course I went crazy looking for information on it and anxiously awaited its airing. Good thing I did- its totally spectacular! Best part of course is Minho but not just because I’m obsessed with him. Well a great deal is because I’m obsessed with him but the story also kicks ass. What’s better is that Minho does a wonderful job in this role.

City Hunter’s  plot is a complex one. In fact I’m finding it truly difficult to not give any spoilers. The story starts off with

Lee Jin-Pyo and Park Moo-Yul working as bodyguards at the South Korean President’s home the Blue House.  There is an attack by North Korean agents on the Presidents life and in retaliation five high ranking South Korean officials plan a covert operation to go into North Korea and kill North Korean agents. Without the president’s knowledge, bodyguards Lee Jin-Pyo and Park Moo-Yul gather men who will take part in the dangerous mission.However, with the plan in action, the public officers, who initiated the covert operation, change their minds. In turn the agents on the field are killed off. That is except for  Lee Jin-Pyo, who survives and swims back to South Korea steals Moo-Yul newborn child and plots vengeance. Years later, the kidnapped child, Lee Yun-Seo finally arrives in South Korea. Knowing of the events that led to his fathers life he has joined forces with Jin-Pyo and sets off to put plans into action. Of course while he is at it he meets Kim Na Na and begins falling in love despite Jin-Pyo’s warning not to do so. cityhunnter 

 

 

I for one am so happy to see Lee Minho in  such a different role. Happier still that he is doing such a phenomenal job at it. Of course, the story is brilliant so it shows him off to perfection but so too do the supporting characters. The production team certainly did a great job in choosing actors/actresses that seem to have no problem in nailing their character. They all have great acting abilities. I mean even Goo Ha Ra, a rookie, is good.

City Hunter is actually based on a world-famous novel by Japan’s Tsukasa Hojo. That alone garnered a lot of press and anticipation from fans world-wide. Thankfully, it has really delivered where other versions had failed. With the change of setting to modern Seoul you really get a better feel for the story. And considering the slew of rom com’s currently out, this really is a great change of pace. I for one cant wait to see how the story progresses- I for one didn’t read the novel so the end will certainly be a surprise!

[REVIEW] SECRET GARDEN

OBSESSION! Yeah right! Its more like fixation! I swear I’m crazy!!!! Some people suffer from it as well…the Secret Garden Madness! Seriously, this is a true illness, I simply cannot get enough of this serious. The worst part is that its on its last 2 episodes this weekend and I don’t know how bad the post partum depression will be. It was announced on the Allkpop portal that they would have a special 70 minute after finale show, as well as a 5th OST, and an OST concert. But I don’t think I’ll ever get over this drama.

For those of you not familiar with Secret Garden 1. you are seriously depriving yourself of a most wonderful k-drama and 2. You should go watch it ASAP!

*QUICK SYNOPSYS*

Kim Joo-Won (Hyun-Bin) is from a wealthy family, smart and good looking. He runs the luxurious Roel Department store, which his family owns. Oska (Yoon Sang-Hyun) is a popular singer around Asia, but he doesn’t have musical talent. He is also a womanizer. Joo-Wan and Oska are also cousins and highly competitive towards each other. Kil Ra-Lim (Ha Ji-Won) is a very talented stunt woman. She and Joo Won begin a very INTERESTING love/hate relationship. Meanwhile, Yeun-Sul (Kim Sa-Rang), Oska’s are ex-lovers, comes into the picture to”make his like difficult.”

Very cookie cutter rom-com but here’s the twist- soon after they meet, Ra-Im and Joo-Won consume a liquor imbued with magic. This causes them to switch bodies and the story goes all up-hill from there.

*WHY DO I LOVE IT?*

Well the synopsis above may sound really cheesy but the writers and producers of this drama did a wonderful job! They kept each episode fresh and even though the plot seems overdone here in the states its quite rare in Asia. Still, even for the commonality it has in the States, I laughed in EVERY SINGLE EPISODE! The characters where unique, the romance multi faceted, and the supporting cast and sub stories fascinating. The sparks flew between the actors and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more well thought out story arc. I cant wait for the finale even though I cant bear to see the show end! (SPOILER ALERT!) With Joo-Won memory gone I wonder how the writers will finish off all the loose ends of the story!!!